*) Calculated for the total population of North Africa and the Middle East, approx. 460,000,000.

Christianchurch with its headquarters in Vatican State in the centre of Rome, European Union. In the Middle East and North Africa the Catholic Church is present on two levels: The Roman Catholic Church and its local churches; and semi-independent churches through the Eastern Rite Churches.The term 'Catholic', means 'universal'.Local churches are administered though the Patriarch in Jerusalem. In 3 major cities, there are nuncios (apostolic delegates): Baghdad, Beirut and Cairo.About half of all catholics in the region of this encyclopaedia, are members of the Roman Catholic Church. Many are catholics as a result of missionary activities, especially in Sudan, while others belong to expatriate population in oil producing countries. In some countries, like Kuwait and United Arab Emirates they represent a major percentage of the population.In North Africa, the Catholics are mainly French, Spanish and Italian descendants of the colonialists from earlier centuries. These are people that often have retained their European identity, orientation and lifestyles. In Spanish North Africa the Roman Catholics even represent the majority.